October 2016

“It’s been Cyan’s tradition to make the most immersive worlds possible by pushing the boundaries of advanced graphics technology. We’re grateful for the incredibly robust development tools of Oculus, NVIDIA, Apple, Epic and other partners that have enabled us to create Obduction.”

Spokane, WA (PRWEB) October 31, 2016

Cyan, Inc., the legendary indie studio that established the adventure exploration genre with the beloved and best-selling games Myst and Riven, today released the VR version of its critically-acclaimed sci-fi thriller, Obduction, on Oculus Rift. Reviews have raved that Obduction’s jaw-dropping vistas, breathtaking sounds and masterfully integrated puzzles will blow your mind in virtual reality, calling it the most rewarding experience of 2016.

“We’re so excited to ship Obduction VR this Halloween as we celebrate the 19th anniversary of our blockbuster Riven,” said Rand Miller, CEO of Cyan. “It’s been Cyan’s tradition to make the most immersive worlds possible by pushing the boundaries of advanced graphics technology. We’re grateful for the incredibly robust development tools of Oculus, NVIDIA, Apple, Epic and other partners that have enabled us to create Obduction.”

Obduction players can now immerse themselves in VR on Oculus Rift, or on a traditional monitor. Also being added is NVIDIA HDR support and NVIDIA Ansel, which allows players to capture stunning 3D 360 panoramic screenshots in super resolution, customizable with post-process filters and shareable with friends. Details on how to view the screenshots can be found on the NVIDIA GeForce blog.

This updated Obduction version is available for PC and Rift on the Oculus Store, Steam, GOG, and Humble Store, for the introductory price of $29.99 (and coming soon to Mac). NVIDIA will be giving away $50,000 of Obduction codes on November 2. For a chance to win, register here.

About Obduction:

Obduction is a sci-fi adventure puzzler from Cyan, Inc., legendary creators of the award-winning titles Myst and Riven. Kickstarter-backed by 23,000 devoted fans and lovingly built by Cyan’s small, innovative team using Unreal Engine 4, Obduction is now available for PC and Rift on the Oculus Store, Steam, GOG, and Humble Storefor the introductory price of $29.99 (and coming soon to Mac). For more information, visit www.obduction.com.

Obduction is now available for VR on Oculus Rift. We hope you were able to take advantage of your early access from the Oculus Store on Friday, but if not, today’s update on all stores (Oculus, Steam, GoG, Humble) now supports VR on the Oculus Rift! A copy of today’s press release is here.

Here are a few things you should know about Obduction for VR…

Obduction is easily explorable with the Oculus Remote – it works very naturally, and if you haven’t tried it you really should! Of course you can also play with a wide range of gamepads.

The default method for exploration in VR is “Blink” mode, and it’s reminiscent of the original Myst. This method of navigation (like teleporting) is widely used in VR for the most comfortable experience.

For “hard core” VR players who can handle a more intense experience, we’ve also included “Free” navigation mode that is similar to standard FPS controls. It’s accessible in the Controls menu.

You can play Obduction in VR either seated or standing. Feel free to try both to see which one suits you.

We have optimized Obduction while trying not to compromise its sweeping vistas and meticulous detail. This high level of immersive integrity may require a bit more performance than other VR titles.

And here is even more about our latest update…

We’ve added NVIDIA Ansel support which lets you take panoramic, high-resolution, and even 3D spherical images that are viewable with almost any VR hardware.

Obduction is now playable in gorgeous HDR with newer NVIDIA graphics cards and an HDR display.

If you have certain Razer Chroma-enabled devices then you’re in for a treat. The colors will match some of the locations and events that you experience while exploring.

Obduction VR

For those of you anxiously awaiting the VR version of Obduction, we have some exciting news! The Oculus Rift VR update of Obduction will be widely available on October 31st – the 19th anniversary of Riven’s release!

But wait… there’s more!

We’ll be making Obduction for the Rift available on the Oculus Store for all Backers a few days before the official release date – on Friday, October 28th. If you helped back Obduction you’ll get a notification on the 28th from Humble for an Oculus Store key. (Here is how to redeem the key.)

Obduction will be one of the most extensive VR games available! Obduction in VR is not just a demo or small slice – it’s the entire experience. This updated Obduction will allow you to choose how you want to explore – Rift or monitor. It’s so exciting to be able to offer our newest worlds in such an immersive format! We hope you enjoy the experience.

Mac Update

We continue to make good progress on the Mac version. As Epic and Apple have helped out with our Mac endeavor it has become evident that Obduction works best with the latest versions of everyone’s software. There are numerous enhancements in MacOS Sierra and the latest Unreal Engine 4 update that clean up many bugs and improve performance, and more are coming. With that in mind it looks like a December time frame will allow us to include updates that Obduction will need for a good Mac version.

We also want you to be aware that we’ll be moving our QA focus to MacOS Sierra. What that means is that when the Mac version of Obduction is released it may work for you on previous versions of MacOS, BUT we’ll be limiting our support to Sierra.

We don’t want to minimize the cost involved in keeping your computers updated, but those of you who have been fans of Cyan for many years realize that our ability to provide evocative worlds has always been tied closely to current hardware, and the latest OS. Our very first game The Manhole required a hard drive when Macs mostly had floppy drives. It was updated to require a CD-ROM drive – one of the first games to require one. Myst required a newer Mac with color monitor, a CD-ROM drive, hard drive, and the latest OS to run QuickTime. And then Riven required a more powerful Mac and a newer OS than even Myst did.

With all that said, Rand plays Obduction on a late 2013 MacBook Pro – not exactly brand new, AND not exactly a gaming machine. We’ve done our best (with Apple and Epic’s help) to optimize and make Obduction work on older hardware, and we hope your older system will work as well.